Schools Plus booster John Bribiescas a driving force for education funding

At least 8,000 graduates of Santa Rosa schools can for certain spell Bribiescas and tell you how a man by that name elevated their education.

But try to count all of the students who have John Bribiescas largely to thank for saving and sustaining their schools' athletics, art, music, drama and other enrichment programs — whether or not they've even heard his name — and you'll need a heap more zeroes.

Teaching English to about 8,000 students, most of them at his alma mater, Santa Rosa High, over the course of 35 years wasn't enough for Bribiescas. He co-founded and for more than two decades has been a leading force of Schools Plus, the all-volunteer organization that has donated more than $4 million to Santa Rosa's secondary schools.

This year alone, Schools Plus distributed $160,000 to the city's high schools and middle schools to offset declines in traditional, government funding of education.

Bribiescas' simplest explanation for why he continues to toil to raise serious money for Santa Rosa's schools — despite being retired at age 65 and a bit hobbled by damage to his cervical vertebrae — is this: "I love my town."

He was 6 months old when his parents moved to Sonoma County from Southern California in 1948. Growing up in the westside, Italian section and in the Santa Rosa Junior College neighborhood, he came to sense that Santa Rosa was the good place it was because of the contributions of community leaders whose names included Friedman, Keegan, Trione and DeMeo.

"As a kid, I played in DeMeo Park," Bribiescas said. In time he figured out that if a member of the westside's St. Rose Parish had a problem requiring an attorney, the one he'd go to was the late Charles or Nick DeMeo.

Bribiescas became aware of how the DeMeo brothers worked their way out of poverty, excelled at law school and became successful, generous members of a community that had been slow to accept Italian-Americans.

"The things those guys overcame. It fills me with awe in the true sense of the word," Bribiescas said.

That awe swelled in him when Santa Rosans learned following the death of attorney, banker and former mayor Charles "Chop" DeMeo in 1995 that he'd left about $16 million for the benefit of Santa Rosa teens and young, struggling mothers.

Though plenty busy already, Bribiescas joined and served for a time on the board of the community asset built by DeMeo's gift to the city: Chop's Teen Club. It occupies the spot at the westside's 6th and Adams long graced by Lena's Italian restaurant.

"I love that place," Bribiescas said of Chop's, which offers Santa Rosa teens an array of opportunities for recreation, education, art and preparation for the workplace. "It's so important."

And Chop's loves him. At a sold-out celebration on Saturday night, leaders of the teen centers will honor Bribiescas and his service to Santa Rosa children with its inaugural "Spirit of Charles DeMeo Award."

Jack DeMeo, a nephew of Charles DeMeo and son of Nick DeMeo, wouldn't miss the presentation.

"I'm very happy to see him receive the first Spirit of Charles DeMeo Award," DeMeo said. He has observed Bribiescas and his commitment to young people since their families lived close to each other between SRJC and Steele Lane.

"We have fond memories of him as a youngster," DeMeo said. "He's a super guy and he's done more than his part."

Bill Friedman, who attended Santa Rosa High with Bribiescas and joined him as part of the group of locals who founded Schools Plus, called his contributions to the city and its children "unbelievable."

He credits Bribiescas with staying deeply involved with Schools Plus after some of its other original members dropped off. It was Bribiescas who brought fresh blood and energy to the effort in 2011 by recruiting a new board of directors.

"He's taken to new heights and new visibility in the community," said Friedman, son of the late Benny Friedman, co-founder of Friedman's Home Improvement stores.

"He has been such a catalyst for keeping Schools Plus in the eyes of the community. He's been an inspiration. He's just a wonderful guy."

Bribiescas said he's just trying to extend to Santa Rosa's children kids some of the same gifts he received as a kid from the likes of "Chop" DeMeo.